The Films of Tim Burton

If you have been reading my reviews, you probably know that I have been going through a Tim Burton phase. He is my personal favorite director and my goal is to watch every single one of his films. This video nicely presents the style and tone of Tim Burton's films. Note the lack of his two most recent films, Dark Shadows and Frankenweenie.

"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" Movie Review

If only Roald Dahl had been alive to see this. One of the greatest childrens authors of all time, Roald Dahl, wrote the story of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" in 1964. In 1971, a musical film adaptation was released with the title "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory". Unfortunately, Roald Dahl himself hated the film, so much so that he refused to allow them to adapt his sequel. Tim Burton didn't like the original either and, as he does so well, he put his own familar spin on it. Johnny Depp was the perfect casting choice as the lonely Willy Wonka, with similarities to his earlier character, Edward Scissorhands. I saw this film in the IMAX theater with its release in 2005 and instantly loved it. I have enjoyed it just as much every time since and I still smile when the Oompa Loompa's sing and when Willy Wonka presents to the children his chocolate room. Although I was one of the many who actually liked the original, I find this one better because with the absense of the unnecessary musical numbers, among other things, this is closer to Roald Dahl's story in tone and in content. I believe if he had been alive he would have enjoyed it, as I did, and I hope you do too.

9/10

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"Corpse Bride" Movie Review

"I do". Those are two words that Victor Van Dort just can't seem to say. He practices and practices but saying his vows aren't an easy thing for him to do. Perhaps it's because he barely knows her and doesn't love her. Or because he is a nervous wreck. Which is it? Either way, it clearly isn't going according to plan. Victor wanders off into the forest and while practicing his vows yet again, he finally gets them right. Unfortunately, it happens at a very inconvenient time. A dead woman, buried in the ground, has been waiting for the perfect man to come and say the exact words that Victor said and she believes it to be for real. She brings him into the world of the dead which is not at all what he is looking for. Tim Burton's idea is a strange and creative one but, to me, there was clearly something missing. Johnny Depp does a mediocre job playing the selfless and kindhearted Victor but that's just it; its mediocre. Same goes for Helena Bonham Carter as the corpse bride and most of the other voice actors. But as I said, Tim Burton's ideas are creative as usual, and the animation that he hadn't used since "The Nightmare Before Christmas", works well here.

6/10

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"Captain America: The First Avenger" Movie Review

Have you ever dreamt of being an American hero? Steve Rodgers certainly has but he hasn't yet found much success in making his fantasy become a reality. Steve is small, weak, and awkward. He has tried to enlist in Army but has been refused. After meeting a friendly doctor who decides to give him a try, he joins the Army and soon after becomes part of an experiment to test drugs that will strengthen him and give him a better chance to be successful. While all this is going on, a madman named Schmidt is attempting to take over the world. This film, set in the 1940s, feels more like a war movie than a superhero movie. Either way however, director Joe Johnston pulls it off and does it very well. It is highly entertaining, with perfect acting, grand sets, and a first-class story. I especially liked Tommy Lee Jones' performance as the rough colonel. As it began, I was comparing the characters of Steve Rodgers and Peter Parker, from Spider-Man, who both are week and not at all hero-like but become powerful as the stories go on. However, there couldn't be a bigger difference between the two because Steve Rodgers is so much more of a stronger and likable character altogether. Although it starts out slow and some of it is a bit silly, the entire movie is a joy to watch and everything comes together in an unforgettable picture.

9/10

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"Frankenweenie" Short Film Review

If you keep track of upcoming movies (like I do), you may know that Tim Burton is releasing a film called "Frankenweenie" next month. It is based on his original idea of a boy that brings his dead dog back to life. In 1984, he released a short film version. Well, almost released it. Disney fired him because it scared children and they didn't want him making those kind of movies for them. It wasn't released to the public until an edited version came out on VHS in 1994. It wasn't until 2008 that the original uncut version was released with the special edition DVD and Blu-ray of "The Nightmare Before Christmas". Unfortunately, I don't think all this work was worth it. The creative idea doesn't translate very well onscreen here. I don't think most kids would be scared; just rather uninterested. And the black and white adds nothing to it and I found it unnecessary. I will be sure to see the new "Frankenweenie" next month and I'm hoping it will be an improvement over this.

5/10

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"Beetlejuice" Movie Review

Death is a strange thing in cinema because every filmmaker decides their own way of presenting the afterlife. In "Beetlejuice", Tim Burton has young married couple Adam and Barbara Maitland killed in a car accident in the first ten minutes of that film. Before they died, they moved into a large country house with the intention of fixing it up a bit. Now that they have died and are ghosts, an annoyed new family named the Deetzs' have moved into their house and the Maitlands want them out. They learn about a "bio-exorcist" who they want to hire to scare the people away. This just creates problems however. The story continues and they become friends with Deetzs' daughter Lydia who has more in common with the ghosts than her own family. Unfortunately, the movie isn't as worthwhile as it may sound because the majority of the characters just aren't interesting enough to hold the movie together. Also, with the incantations and all the references to the supernatural, it isn't even close to my Christian values. However, it is a silly movie, all done tongue-in-cheek and shouldn't be taken seriously. Still, there isn't much of a reason to see it other than Michael Keaton's insane performance as Betelgeuse which is quite fun to watch although he wasn't in it as much as I would have liked. And as always, Tim Burton's crazy visuals and ideas are always original.

6/10

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"Edward Scissorhands" Movie Review

It is movies like this that remind me why I love movies so much. As I sat and watched "Edward Scissorhands", I had a smile on my face almost from beginning to end. Once upon a time, there was an eccentric inventor who lived alone in a large mansion. Making gadgets was something he loved to do and there was something he created that was different and unique: a man with scissors for hands which he fittingly named Edward Scissorhands. The inventor planned on giving him real hands, but as he was old, he died before he could do so. This left Edward with those scissors for life. He continued to live up in mansion until a lady found him alone and decided to take him in. She showed him what it was like to live in the real world and he quickly fell in love with her daughter, Kim and became the center of attention for the whole town. As of 2012, Tim Burton and Johnny Depp have worked together in exactly 8 films, this one being the first. Johnny Depp does a fantastic job as the innocent and often clueless Edward Scissorhands and his performance and acting style blends perfectly with Tim Burton's bizarre fantasy stories. Tim Burton is my favorite director of all time because he is able to produce movies with stories that are exactly what appeal to me and have appealed to me since I was a young child: dark, intriguing, creative, unique, and often creepy. I have only have one complaint about this movie: the neighbors were painful and quite annoying to watch. But the good scenes were so great that they helped compensate for these painful scenes. And Edward is not just a character; he is a symbol for those who are different than others and who don't quite seem to fit in in life and I am here to say that this alone made the him one of the most likable characters I have ever seen in onscreen. 

9/10

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"Jaws 2" Movie Review

In the words of Roger Ebert: "I hated, hated, hated this movie." Uninteresting, pointless, predictable. Those last two sentences express how I felt about "Jaws 2". I try to avoid using the word "boring" in my writing but I am forced to use it here: this is a boring movie. Dreadfully and painfully boring. It is strange to me how a brilliant film such as "Jaws" could have such a bad sequel. But this movie shows how possible it is. Not only was it uninteresting, but it was incredibly predicable. In my mind (or sometimes out loud), I would say what would happen next and, by golly, I was right almost the entire time. And to make it even worse, the story line was unoriginal. Based on what you know from the first one, it is a given that there will be shark attacks. But all that consists of the story is a group of rebellious kids who decide to go sailing and...well I'm sure you can guess what happens next. Without the talents of Steven Spielberg and Richard Dreyfuss, this movie suffers greatly. The only part of this movie that was even relatively interesting was the ending, which I am not going to give away in case, for some reason, you do end up seeing this film. But I am telling you this movie is truly a close encounter of a bad film because if you loved the first, like I did, you probably would want to see the sequel but after reading this, I hope you reconsider.

2/10

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10 Movies!

Yay! I am up to 10 movies! Internet party! I don't know how much of an audience I have but if there is anybody out there reading this, thank you. So although I have only been reviewing movies so far, I want to say that this is indeed a blog. I am hoping to do more than just review movies. I'm planning on posting movie updates about various movie-related information. Anyway, so I hope that you have enjoyed my reviews as much as I have enjoyed writing and posting them.

"Big Fish" Movie Review

Has someone ever told you a story that was so awe-inspiring and so fantastic that you wondered if it could possibly be true? This is how William Bloom feels about his father, Edward Bloom. So much so that he doesn't even talk to him anymore. Edward Bloom is a storytelling, eager to tell everyone about his life adventures. Will knows they can't be true and so as his father grows close to death, he decides to set things straight. This film, based on Daniel Wallace's book, is one of my favorites because it clearly portrays a life well lived. Edward Bloom is one of the most inspiring characters I have ever seen onscreen because he puts so much into life; and gets so much out of it. Tim Burton's usual films are quite dark in tone, but with this, he takes a break from that style, while still managing to put his unmistakable creativeness and true sense of wonder into it. I also highly recommend Daniel Wallace's book which is just as good, if not better, than the movie.

10/10

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"Contagion" Movie Review

One night, a woman steps into a casino in Hong Kong to have a drink and play some games. The next day she flies home to her family, unexpectedly has a seizure and died. What happened? That is what her husband and the rest of the world are asking as this unknown virus multiplies in "Contagion". This frighteningly real film continues in this fashion as more and more people die from this infection, which places the world in a state of panic. There are some aspects of this movie that well done, and it is quite gripping but the many characters are not as deep as they should be. There were only a small few characters that I actually cared about. For instance, I would have been fine with the writers completely removing Jude Law's character from the script. I found him uninteresting annoying. This movie is not great but it accomplishes what its set out to do: showing the affects of a deadly virus that creates a disaster, while scaring the audience a bit.

6/10

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"The Nightmare Before Christmas" Movie Review

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to combine the holidays of Christmas and Halloween? If so, Tim Burton answered it in 1993 with his release of "The Nightmare Before Christmas". The film opens in Halloweentown with shots of ghosts, skeletons, vampires, and witches. Jack Skellington is the pumpkin king and a highly respected citizen. He is lonely and sad, though, because he wants something more than scares and frights. When walking through a forest, he comes across a door that takes him to Christmasland and he instantly knows; this is what he has been looking for. What he decides to do is this: replace Santa this Christmas and put his own spin on things. To do it his own way. This movie, inspired by Tim Burton's poem, is enchanting to look at and the animation is unbelievable. However, don't be expecting a lot of Christmas cheer in this holiday story because it is lacking in that aspect. Also, being a Christian, I found the lack of any mention of the birth of Christ disappointing. However, Christmas is portrayed as something special, so much so that Jack can't even explain it to his friends. And that in itself shows that Christmas is not a regular holiday like any other. Jack's intentions also are good, for he wants to give and make people joyful. Though it is not perfect, I still think it is quite a good movie, primarily because of its creativeness and originality, both of which are qualities that always appeal to me. I also highly recommend reading the original poem or even better, listening to Christopher Lee read it with the animation and art from the movie. You can watch it on Blu-ray or DVD and I actually enjoyed it even more than the movie. I also found it on YouTube (I will provide the link below). The poem itself is available in a beautifully animated storybook that I will be sure to purchase.

8/10

Tim Burton's Original Poem read by Christopher Lee:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbPCwc_Cdz0

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"True Grit" 2010 Movie Review

I ain't seen a western 'fore I set my eyes on this 'un. I must say it had some real grit. Some "True Grit". Story is of a darn feisty young'un with the name of Mattie Ross. Her pa was shot and killed by Tom Chaney, a runaway with a mission of not gettin' caught. She hires a drunkard called Rooster to capture and come to see he being properly hanged. With the help of LaBoeuf, they go on a adventurous search fer this criminal. Jeff Bridges does a fine job as Rooster, as does Hailee Steinfeld in the role of Mattie. Only problem I found with this film was much of it was slower than molasses. It's not real easy to get thru at times. That being said, its not a bad movie and if you remain patient, I think you will come to enjoy it like I did.

7/10

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